include yourself in your patience, in your grace, in your spaciousness of heart.

~j

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#spaciousness #grace #patience #breathe #presence #mindfulness #OpenHeart #path #practice

our temporary time here on this earth is in the headlines. some of our favorite celebrities are gone. Betty White at 99, Sidney Poitier at 94, Bob Saget at 65. and tragically 17 in a Bronx fire, 7 of which were children. and so many, nearly 840,000, gone from the pandemic. some ages may feel more appropriate than others, long lives compared to short ones, but for loved ones it is always too soon.

we don’t like to think about death or talk about it. this is a shame, because if we haven’t already, we will have to face death with loved ones and eventually ourselves. appropriate awareness, perspective, and contemplation of death can fill us with life. we see life as sacred, an opportunity to be shared and cherished.

we don’t know how long we have and so much time is wasted. this fleeting life here is at times resilient and at times fragile, at times sad and at times filled with joy. in all cases it is temporary. we are reminded to cherish! to live in every breath, soaking up both sun and rain. to love deeply and without reservation.

the Zen Evening Gatha is an extraordinary verse striking at the heart of this experience. i remember when i first read it, it struck me still and awake. i have a copy hanging on my wall that i read before bed each night as a reminder, a call back to this moment and the gift that it is, to practice awareness, open-heartedness, and union with all.
~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

*if you like this art, you can have it as a print or on various products found at JMWart, my online Redbubble store. you can visit directly at JMWart.redbubble.com or via my website (www.jaysenwaller.com) 👍🏻🙏🏻

#ZenEveningGatha #Zen #Buddhism #life #death #impermanence #sacred #path #practice #enso #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #art

if love is the answer for our long ignored wounds, our current harm and trauma (and i believe it is) then we need to understand that Love = Work.
it calls for the vulnerability and courage of an open heart. it calls for our awakening to our interdependence. it calls for our touching in on the tenderness of our empathy. it calls for embodiment, our compassion in action. it calls for a dedication to our aspiration to love, discipline in our practice, and a sense of living by our vow to love.
love is not sentimental. it is a courageous, humble, connective, joyful, fierce, powerful, in the trenches with dirt beneath our nails, healing force. i believe it is what the world needs and it isn’t something we can do on the sidelines. we must love into the depths of our lives, touching every cell. love leaves nothing out.
love is the energy we need to defeat movements of hate and aggression. love is the energy we need to dispel fear, to bring clarity, and coherence.
~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

*if you like this art, you can have it as a print or on various products found at JMWart, my online Redbubble store. you can visit directly at JMWart.redbubble.com or via my website (www.jaysenwaller.com) 👍🏻🙏🏻

#love #life #OpenHeart #path #practice #PlantingSeeds #vow #interdependence #suffering #healing #joy #EngagedBuddhism #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #art

a post of mine from this day a year ago, followed by a quote i posted that day, some art, and some recommended reading for this time in the U.S.
there are those who dismiss what happened, who are attempting to lessen the death and harm of that day, shift blame, and cover up the attempted coup, all while still taking decisive actions on local and state levels to undermine our election laws, our right to vote, our ability to vote, the validity of our vote – the very foundation of our democracy.
the fascistic attempt to grasp power, to move from democracy to authoritarianism is ongoing. our children and future generations will ask us how we stood in this time, what we said, what actions we engaged in to stand up to the dark, destructive force of fascism we are facing.
we think of what will happen to us in this country if this democracy falls. this is understandable, because our lives will be changed, especially the lives of the most vulnerable, marginalized, and those targeted by an authoritarian regime. but I would like to pose another question. what will happen to the rest of the world if this country, the world’s most militarized, richest, and powerful country turns to authoritarianism?
there’s a lot more at stake here than our comfort.
what would love do? i’m not talking Hallmark cards. i’m talking about fierce love, the love that moves mountains. the love that parts seas. the love that descends into the depths of hell to end suffering. that’s the energy we need.
breathe. steady your mind. center yourself. keep your heart open. be rested.drink water.stay vigilant.
~j

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#January6th #Jan6th #insurrection #coup #fascism #authoritarianism #SitDownRiseUp #democracy #RightToVote #EngagedBuddhsim #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

what we say and do matters.beneficial or harmful, the seeds we plant today will one day bear fruit. 🌱

we should ask ourselves, “What seeds do I want to plant in this moment? Are the seeds I am planting rooted in love, in kindness, in compassion?” 🌿♥️

~j

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#PlantingSeeds #BearingFruit #life #love #kindness #compassion #metta #OpenHeart #path #practice #RalphWaldoEmerrsonQuote #JinpaLhaga

love this quote. pulled it from a wonderful New Year’s post by Jaimal Yogis . there’s a lot in life that needs our attention and it can be overwhelming. we can feel helpless and powerless, but we do have power and we can help. Jaimal’s wise words really center in on those two truths, that we have power (our love) and we can do something (our love embodied in action). but it also offers a third truth that reflects our interdependence, and that is that we are in this together (community / Sangha) and together, we can bring much benefit. i think this is why i still have hope despite what we are facing. i have hope, because i know so many who are willing to connect with and then offer their love to the world. what is the saying? “a drop of water fills the ocean”? yes.

i’m really grateful i stumbled upon Jaimal’s work years ago and connected with him. we’ve yet to meet in person (distance, pandemic, etc.) but he’s an incredibly grounded, authentic, warm-hearted practitioner – author – teacher – producer. check out his documentary Saltwater Buddha and his book by the same name along with his other books: The Fear Project, All Our Waves Are Water, his children’s book series Mop Rides the Waves of Life and Mop Rides the Waves of Change 🌊. AND brand new, his incredible and beautiful (art by Vivian Truong) recently released graphic novel – City Of Dragons: The Awakening Storm 🐉 (second pic).

~j
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#presence #love #power #RightAction #sangha #community #interdependence #compassion #OpenHeart #mindfulness #meditation #path #practice #JaimalYogis

many of us will begin our yearly tradition of a New Year’s Resolution. perhaps we began yesterday, or will begin today, or tomorrow after the weekend.

whatever the habit-breaking, habit-forming, or self-improvement goal may be, let’s engage it with love. love for ourselves, love for our mental health, love for our physical health, love for others and for our world. let’s not engage it in competition with others, false ideals, or to impress others.

so many of these body centric resolutions seem born out of dissatisfaction with our bodies, even disgust, but it doesn’t have to be this way. we don’t have to be motivated by aggression. instead, we can be motivated out of love for our bodies, cherishing the miracle that they are and wanting to support their health the best way we can. the human body is formed by trillions of cells, roughly 30 trillion human cells and roughly 38 trillion nonhuman bacteria cells. we are the caretaker of this community of cells which allow us to have life. we can be motivated out of love for them, which is also loving ourselves.

when it comes to mental health, we often approach resolving to end our harmful habits or add beneficial habits with similar aggressive energy, trying to be someone else or be like someone else, and beating ourselves up when we fall short. i’d wager this rarely or never works in the long run. a quote by the beloved Persian poet and Sufi mystic, Rumi, comes to mind – “Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.” in meditation practice this is our approach as well. we approach with gentleness. this approach cultivates spaciousness and spaciousness, an opening of heart and steadying of mind, waters the beneficial habits.

we can love ourselves, think we’re pretty amazing, and still take actions that benefit ourselves, our health, others, and our world. as the Japanese Zen Master, Shunryo Suzuki Roshi, famously said to his students, “Each of you is perfect the way you are and you can use a little improvement.”

~j

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#NewYear #NewYearsResolution #habits #SelfImprovement #goals #perspective #life #love #nonaggression #OpenHeart #path #practice #JinpaLhaga